The labor and employment sector is one of the factors that reflects the “health” of the economy. According to the Provincial Statistics Office, the province’s labor force has maintained its growth momentum in recent years, both in terms of size and quality. Labor quality has also been improved, through the effectiveness of education and vocational training policies.

By the end of the first quarter of 2025, the province had 346,751 people in the labor force. Of which, the labor force in urban areas was 107,278 people, accounting for 30.94%, and in rural areas was 233,472 people, accounting for 69.06% of the labor force. The rate of men participating in the labor force was 51.82% (179,669 people); this rate for women was 48.18% (167,081 people).

Employed labor accounts for 99.48% of the total labor force in the province (equivalent to 344,950 people). Of which, employed labor in rural areas accounts for the majority, with 238,848 people (69.24%), because the majority of Kon Tum province's population is in rural areas.

The rate of underemployment and unemployment continues to decrease, at a low level compared to other provinces in the Central Highlands region in particular and the whole country in general. The estimated number of unemployed people by the end of the first quarter of 2025 is 1,801 people, the unemployment rate is 0.52% of the total labor force in the province, down 0.12% compared to the same period last year.

Reducing unemployment below the current national average (2.2%) shows great efforts from all levels and sectors, and the effectiveness of policies on labor and employment.

At the same time, it also reflects the socio-economic situation in the province continues to develop stably, creating employment opportunities for workers, thereby reducing unemployment.

Activities to connect supply and demand, solve employment and labor problems, and inspect and supervise activities to support labor market development in the area are deployed to each district and city. Resources are mobilized and used effectively, with focus and key points, thereby creating job opportunities for many workers.

Notably, we are witnessing a significant shift in the current employment structure, from low-productivity jobs to higher-productivity jobs. Even workers looking for general or export jobs already have experience and skills in the fields they are applying for.

Despite the above changes, most of the province's jobs are still in small-scale, low-quality production areas with limited coverage.

The main characteristics of jobs suitable for manual labor are low productivity, low wages, no social welfare benefits, and almost no job security.

Low levels of labor force skills can hinder integration into more profitable value chains, or into higher-value jobs within the value chain.

Of course, it cannot be said that the province's labor force is limited in terms of educational level. According to statistics, up to now, the whole province has 11 vocational education institutions, including 1 college, 8 vocational education - continuing education centers, and 2 vocational education centers.

However, high-skill jobs have not grown significantly and have grown more slowly than medium-skill jobs. The number of high-quality jobs is limited - or the country's human capital potential is not being used effectively.

In particular, the biggest challenge for the labor and employment sector is that new technologies, such as robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), digital platforms or digital transformation in general, have become inevitable trends, having a strong impact on labor productivity. Thereby affecting employment in replacing and eliminating low-skilled workers.

The current problem of labor and employment is to improve the quality of jobs as well as the qualifications of the existing labor force.

We have many advantages to carry out this process. For example, the economy has continued to grow strongly and continuously in recent years; the system of policies on labor market development and vocational training continues to be effective, along with taking advantage of opportunities from the trend of digital economic development.

In addition, the technological revolution and digital transformation bring many challenges but also opportunities. When labor productivity increases thanks to technology and automation, it not only replaces labor but also creates conditions for expanding production scale, helping to create more jobs for skilled workers, or promoting a change in thinking to adapt to manual labor.

Digital platforms also encourage the improvement of the quality of the workforce, forcing a part of the workforce in rural areas, simple jobs to switch to new jobs, where digital technology is applied.

However, to have a workforce with appropriate and high-skilled skills, meeting the requirements of the digital age, it is necessary to have synchronous and effective human resource training solutions. In particular, focusing on vocational training to serve the development of high-tech agriculture, synchronous mechanization, processing, and production linkage according to the value chain.

Workers need to be equipped with soft skills, digital skills and deeper technical skills to complement new technologies; and need to be facilitated to move between sectors, industries and locations.

And finally, career requirements increasingly require technological knowledge and digital skills; most occupations and training fields will not be able to lack the application of technology. Grasping technology, workers will easily integrate into the working environment in the digital age.